About Us

Our business in one form or another has been based in Amble since the early 1950s. It was originally set up after the war by my Grandfather (Harry). He started with a garage repairing cars and bikes. Since then we have continued with car sales, repairs and bikes. In the 60s, 70s and 80s the car side of the business grew as the demand for cars and then second cars grew and grew. We still had some bikes and completed repairs in a cold corner of the garage workshop but it was a very small part of the business. Over the next few years more bikes appeared in the showroom and pretty soon there were no cars left just bikes and accessories.

I am proud to say that I still work alongside my dad who shows no sign of slowing down even though he is in his 64th year. He still commutes the 6 miles to work everyday by bike and only uses motorised transport if he has no other choice ( then sulks about it for the rest of the week!!). Mike has brought a huge amount to the shop from his expertise as a mechanic and his ability to listen to customers then get them to part with their hard earned cash. He still has a youthful enthusiasm for dealing with people (Selling them stuff!!) and the biggest challenge i face on a weekly basis is getting to have a day off! Over the last few years he has completed the Lands End to John o Groats, Fred Whitton Challenge, Raid Alps, Raid Corsica and this year is cycling in spain for a week. His main regret is not starting cycling till his 30s but he has certainly made up for lost time!! This year he will also get a trip to Glentress Mountain Bike Center and the local woods (Thrunton) when we get the shop rides going in the summer.

Proving that we are a family business my mum (Helen) is the real boss. She pays the bills, organises the accounts and bills as well as answering the endless telephone calls from people wanting to save us a fortune on our phone/gas/electric/water or whatever. She also pays the wages and makes sure I don't get carried away with the ordering.

The other family member is Jackie my partner of many years (I had to put that because i have no idea how long it has been). Her job is to keep everything how it should be in the shop, making sure everything is tidy, what needs ordering and wrapping/dispatching web orders. She has cycled from when we first met going mountain biking all over the country and standing on wet and windy finish lines while we raced around on tarmac or in mud. She has been bitten by the competitive bug as well completeing several triathlons until breast cancer and the subsequent treatment forced her to take time out. The fitness campaign is starting up again so watch this space..

We also have several part time members of staff Alistair and Arron. I ahve known Alistair for many years of cycling to the local cafe and the local TLI races. He has worked in the shop for the last couple of years since his retirement from the police. He has a great work/life balance and spends most of his spare time cycling, weight lifting, skiing or drinking but never all at the same time. He regularly commutes to work with a 30 mile round trip as well as weights in the evening. He completed the toughest sportive in europe, The Marmotte, a couple of years ago in a very respectable time for his age!! He still competes in the local TLI races and has (as he always reminds me)actually won one. Our youngest member of staff, Arron, started on work experience from school and since then worked holidays and weekends for us. Although he is quiet his skill with a spanner is a natural talent and he happily works all day in the workshop and makes endless cups of tea for staff and customers alike.

The final and without doubt the least productive member of the team is me (Mark). You will usually find me standing behind the counter with a mug of tea in one hand and a peice of paper in the other (this is so I look busy) talking to anyone who will listen. I mainly order the things we need, do customer bike fits, build wheels and generally skive as much as I can. I still get great satisfaction from building wheels a skill I learnt from my Granda as well as completing bike fits. The amount of people who buy a bike and then dont use it because it is uncomfortable is staggering. So if you are reading this get on the phone and get booked in for a bike fit.

So now you know all of us pop in the shop so we can get to know you!

Our opening times are......

MONDAY - FRIDAY 9 am to 5.30pm

SATURDAY 9am to 4pm

SUNDAY Closed so we can go out on our bikes.

 

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